Reactive justice: how FIFA and CAS co-construct child protection in football

Abstract This article critically examines the evolution of FIFA’s ( Fédération Internationale de Football Association ) regulatory framework on the protection of minors, focusing on Article 19 of the Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players (RSTP) and its interpretation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Employing a doctrinal legal analysis of Article 19 of the FIFA RSTP since 2001 and CAS jurisprudence between 2001 and 2022, this article traces the evolution of key exceptions such as parental-move, European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), cross-border transfers, humanitarian grounds, and academy regulation and situates these developments within the normative framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The findings reveal that Article 19, introduced in 2001 as a restrictive measure to combat trafficking and exploitation, has developed through a series of reactive reforms driven by public developments, disciplinary actions, and judicial interventions rather than by a coherent child-protection strategy. Across diverse strands of CAS jurisprudence, panels have gradually incorporated child-rights reasoning and, at times, urged FIFA to amend its rules. Yet FIFA’s selective implementation of such reasoning has reinforced structural imbalances within its regulatory framework. Limited transparency and significant access-to-justice barriers further constrain the effective protection of minors in global football. The article argues that a more systematic integration of UNCRC principles into FIFA’s regulatory architecture, combined with enhanced transparency, improved access to adjudicatory mechanisms, and the incorporation of child-rights expertise within CAS proceedings, is essential to shift from reactive adaptation toward a proactive, rights-sensitive model of global football governance.